The emotional roller coaster of trying to live a healthier lifestyle

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Monthly Archives: December 2010

I have to apologize, as I have let “life” get in the way of my bloggin’. Sorry for the lack of updates. If it makes you feel any better, I’ve missed you all.

So, what has been eating up my time, you wonder?Â Well, let’s see…I can’t remember if I have talked about it here or not, but back in October, toward the end of the month, I became a leader with Weight Watchers and since that time, I have been adding more and more meetings to my schedule. I still also do receptionist work with WW, but have since been working more in the role of leader. In between all my meetings, I also still work as a reporter. My plan is to continue doing both as long as I can. I am not ready to give up my reporting job just yet…I have been doing it for about 11 and a half years. Crazy!

So, yes, like so many other people out there, I am working two jobs…a workaholic, I guess you can say. And so far, it has been working out…for the most part…I guess. Yes, it has been hectic, but has also been tons of fun! My family might be missing me or at least I hope they are because I am surely missing them. BUT, I am thoroughly enjoying my role as a Weight Watchers leader. I am hopeful that I can help my members just like my leader helped me. She played such an important role in my healthy living journey. I hope I am doing the same with my members. I think I am.

Currently, I lead meetings in Melrose (an at-work/community meeting), Sauk Centre (traditional meeting), Alexandria (at-work/community meeting) and Glenwood (traditional meeting).Â The difference between the at-work/community meetings and the traditional meeting is that with the at-work one, I go to a place of business and conduct a meeting there. I go to them instead of them coming to me, like with a traditional meeting. Right now, I am trying to build up my at-work/community meetings, although if there were more traditional meetings in the area that I could lead, I would take them as well. I now have to travel for my job, which has been an adventure. Winter has not been kind to me.

Other things that are/were eating up my time – like I have much more left after trying to work two jobs – was the holiday season. Dang, it just snuck right up on me this year. It was like BAM!, here it is and then BAM!, there it went. It was a whirlwind of a couple of weeks.

And, some unfortunate news within the last week or two, is my dad. His health is not the best right now and we are trying to get things figured out. Within a six-day period, he took two ambulance rides, visited three emergency rooms, had three cat scans of his head and stayed overnight in one of the hospitals for two days in a row. My dad has epilepsy and for some reason, on the morning of December 19, he had two seizures within two hours of each other. This was the morning after my family celebrated Christmas. He hit his head pretty good during the first one and really, really good during the second one. Did I mention he ended up with a concussion?The sucky part, as if all that wasn’t enough, was that we were surprised with a visit from my brother Al, who lives in Idaho. Oh wait, my brother’s visit wasn’t the sucky part. Let’s just say I am very, very glad we have pictures of our family Christmas because after two seizures and a concussion, my poor dad doesn’t remember a thing. His memory basically wiped out four whole days and parts of several others. But at least he knows who we all are. His long-term memory is there, but not always his short-term memory. We are praying it comes back.

At any rate, they – meaning the doctors – are trying to get him figured out. He now has an MRI scheduled for tomorrow, Thursday, December 30. Let’s just hope they find something out soon. It’s been a little rough…on my mom, me, the rest of the family and especially my dad. Feel free to send some prayers. We sure could use them.

So, yes, life has been a tad bit busy. And although my eating hasn’t been the best…boy, oh, boy could I share some stories about that!…my weight has been doing okay. Well, kind of. Okay, so I gained five pounds over Christmas, I have now lost two of those pounds and am back on track (sort of!). At one point before the holiday season, I actually hit 133 pounds point something, then I went up to 138 something and now, as of this morning, I am back to 136 something. I think it was 136.8 pounds. Not bad considering all the CRAP I’ve eaten lately. I was actually disappointed in myself, but I will save that for another time.

Just like so many others, I, too, will be making a New Year’s resolution. Although I don’t necessarily like to call it that. I am setting a goal and I am going to make an action plan for my goal, which is to start incorporating exercise back into my life. Oh, did I forget to mention that exercise has gone by the way side? Well, beginning January 2, I will start at it again. And I know I will stick to it….I have to….I have a 7K race on March 19 I am running! Yikes!

I wish all of you a very Happy New Year! I will leave you with a quote a friend of mine (she’s also a WW leader) posted on her Facebook page: “Most people are concerned about what they eat between Christmas and New Year’s, when in reality, they should be concerned with what they eat between New Year’s and Christmas.”

Note: If you feel like sending me an email, you can do so at confessionsofaformerfatgirl@gmail.com. I promise I will respond, but it may take me a couple of days. Also, you can find Confessions of a Former Fat Girl on Facebook…just click here.

I had an assignment this morning (Saturday, December 4) to shoot some photos at the Douglas County Historical Society’s open house and bake sale.Â Me at a bake sale…hmmm, I wondered how it was going to go. Oodles of baked goodies and me together in one room. I wasn’t so sure about it. My willpower was going to be tested to the max.

Well, I shot some photos…some of a lovely lady making krumkake, others of some more lovely ladies making lefse and even more of some handsome gentlemen selling the oh-so-good-looking baked goodies. There were so many different items. And they were ALL calling my name. I have to say the distinguished looking gentlemen were doing a very good job of trying to sell me some of those deliciously tempting treats. Most, by the way, were traditional Scandinavian delicacies…Danish, Norwegian, Swedish, etc.

Growing up in a German/French household, I have to say I hadn’t heard of many of the different treats, let alone tasted some them. However, being married to someone with a strong Scandinavian background, I had at least heard of and knew what lefse and krumkake was. And I have even eaten lefse before, although I am not sure if I have had krumkake. As much as I hate to admit it, lefse is not particularly one of my favorites treats. My husband, however, loves it.

Well, as I was watching a demonstration of krumkake being made, and of course, nibbling on some at the same time (it was delicious!), I noticed these little ball-shaped, doughnut-looking treats that were dusted with powdered sugar. I asked what it was and was told the little treats were aebleskivers or ebelskivers, and that there were Danish. I was told to go ahead and try one. Of course I couldn’t turn it down and so I grabbed one and took a bite.

OH—-MY—-GOODNESS!!! They were SO delicious. It was like eating a balled up, kind of fluffy, but yet doughnut like, pancake. Heavy on the nutmeg, it reminded me of my mom’s super-delicious cake doughnuts. However, instead of being deep-fried like my mom’s doughnuts, these, I found out later, are made in an aebleskiver pan. Yep, there’s a special pan just to make these little balls of goodness.

I. Loved. Them. YUMMY!!!

I really had no intentions of buying anything at this bake sale. I really didn’t. I didn’t even bring in any money. I left my purse in the car. Well, so much for that. Out to my car I went, nearly running, to get my checkbook so I could buy some aebleskivers. There was no way I was going to leave without having some. I also ended up buying some krumkake for my husband and I decided I may as well buy some sugar cookies while I was at it.

Back at the office, I decided I would share my treats. I really didn’t NEED to keep them for myself. Although yes, I will admit I WANTED to keep them for myself. But I didn’t. I shared.

I also decided to Google aebleskivers and here is what I found out. There are traditional Danish pancakes in a distinctive shape of a sphere. Somewhat similar in texture to American pancakes crossed with a popover, aebleskivers are solid like a pancake but light and fluffy like a popover. The English language spelling is usually aebleskiver or ebleskiver. In the United States, a version of aebleskiver is sold with a commercially repackaged pan, branded as “pancake puffs.”

The batter for aebleskiver usually includes wheat flour, which is mixed with buttermilk, milk or cream, eggs, sugar, nutmeg and a pinch of salt. The batter is poured into the aebleskiver pan and then they are turned with knitting needle, skewer or fork to give the cakes their characteristic spherical shape. They are often sprinkled with powdered sugar and then you can dip them in different flavored jams.

Well, all I know is that they were good. I think I might have to call my mom and she if she’ll make me some doughnuts. They’ll be just as good as aebleskivers…..right?

Here’s a couple of pictures of what aebleskivers look like that I found on the Internet:

About the author

Celeste

Some of my passions are writing, food, running and trying to inspire people. So, it only seemed natural for me to start a blog! I freely admit I don't hold a degree in nutrition and I am not a fitness guru, but I will explain what it takes to lose weight and change your lifestyle in an honest, tell-it-like-is style. I talk about the struggles, the challenges and the rewards, the satisfaction, if you will, of what it takes to start and maintain a healthy living lifestyle. Dozens of my blog followers, and more every week, have thanked me for providing the down-to-earth motivation and tips that have helped them lead healthier lives. I cringe at the word "diet" - really, I despise it - because I believe it's only a temporary solution doomed to fail once the diet ends. Instead, I believe in a permanent approach to food and fitness that naturally guides people into making healthier choices the rest of their lives. I live in Alexandria, Minnesota with my son and my husband, Al. I am a leader with Weight Watchers. I enjoy running, walking, biking, shopping, playing on the computer, Facebooking and spending time with my family and friends. Most Saturday nights, you can find me and my husband at home for our "date night" trying new healthy recipes and learning and enjoying red wines.